Cocktail Chronicles
An excellent blog by a man who has more cocktail books than I thought were published.

cocktailnerd
Gabriel has crafted a fine site and shares some of my pain with a state-run liquor system. He also manages to post about 4000 times more than me, and it’s always interesting!

Dave’s Drinks
Anyone who posts about exotic cocktails makes it on this blogroll!

Days That End In “Y”
An all-around drinking blog that posts quality news on the world of spirits, beer, wine, gadgets… the list goes on, as do the posts, which are too numerous to count. “Updated frequently” would be an understatement.

Dr. Bamboo
A fellow Pennsylvanian with a penchant for art and fine cocktails.

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You may be asking yourself a couple of questions about this picture, such as:

Why is there a huge stargazer lily presiding like an ominous alien over the drink?

Even though this tiki drink is the same color as nearly every other tiki drink, does it contain a secret ingredient?

Is that a wooden back-scratcher?

Well, let’s see. The sweet aroma of the stargazer lily couldn’t be more suited to such a fine drink, though it soon found its way back to the garden as my allergy-entombed nose began to itch like something fierce. Though, as I’ve proven before, my skill in choosing flowers as garnishes proves that, indeed, I am not a botanist. The floral garnish was supposed to be an orchid.

This fine libation was created by Harry Yee, “The Dean of Hawaiian Bartenders,” who is said to have been the first to garnish a drink with an orchid and a paper parasol.

Tropical Itch

8oz passion fruit nectar

1 1/2oz Bacardi 151 rum

1/2oz orange curacao

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1oz Dark Jamaican rum

1oz Bourbon

Fill a large hurricane glass with crushed ice, add all the ingredients, and stir well. Garnish with pineapple, mint leaves, an orchid, and a wooden back-scratcher

Source: Intoxica! Jeff Berry

Flavor

The Tropical Itch is the very essence of tiki magic. Every single ingredient blends with the others to create a surreal concoction that surely would brighten the eyes of any tiki fanatic. It’s blatantly obvious how passion fruit nectar is nothing like it’s syrupy counterpart. Instead of packing a sweet-tart punch, the nectar adds a delicate tropical flavor that seeps into every last one of your taste buds. The bitters and curacao work their magic on the rum, but the true surprise is the bourbon. It’s just a hint at the end of every sip, but how divine.

14 Comments to “
Tropical Itch”

I have friends here with collections of back scratchers from one of the beachside bars in Waikiki that garnishes their tropical itch with them. The last time we went, they had run out of backscratchers, and everyone was upset (though, it’s not like any of us need any more…)

Beautiful! We’ve got a couple Stargazer lilies in our yard, but the wildife usually eats the buds & blooms before we can enjoy them for too long.:-(

And I just got my copy of Intoxica! last week, so I’ve been paging through it ever since. Any hints on where to get the various nectars and which brands to look for/avoid? Several of the recipes call for them, but I don’t have the slightest idea where they’d be sold (Although I’m guessing some intensive Googling would likely turn up a few leads).

I’m pleased to hear that you’ve gotten your copy of Intoxica! It is just a wonderful tome of tiki knowledge, isn’t it?

I have not looked around all that much for nectars – Wegman’s stocks a few kinds, but I’ve been buying Goya brand in cans, since I can’t finish a whole bottle of papaya nectar before it goes bad. My guess is that Goya is probably low on the list of quality nectars, but they are servicable.

I have an email in to Kern’s, which Berry recommends, to see if they sell anywhere in PA. They are CA based, so I’m thinking we may be out of luck.

I’d be very interested to hear what you find out if you dive into an intense search.

I tried the Ceres passion fruit nectar in another cocktail last night (still need to get 151 rum for the tropical itch) and was under impressed. I didn’t compare them side by side; but it seems to me the looza juice had a stronger passion fruit flavor.

I usually find them at health food stores or upscale groceries. I think Whole Foods carries both brands, at least here in San Francisco.

I just purchased a bunch of the Ceres nectars on sale at Berkeley Bowl here in CA. So far, I’ve only used a few, but found them to be a good value when considering taste and price. Kern’s, as Rick stated, is sold in cans similar to soft drinks. I often see it here in vending machines. I have only tried a few flavors, and they seem pretty average. However, in the name of science (and by science I mean drinking), I will undertake to perform a taste comparison of cocktails containing Ceres vs. Kern’s. Watch this space and I shall report back with my findings later this weekend.

I went back and tasted the Ceres Passion Fruit juice a couple more times on its own.

I still find the Passion Fruit flavor very mild. I almost feel like the apple and/or pear juice in the blend dominates and I really only get Passion fruit almost as an aftertaste. But, maybe I’m spoiled ‘cos I had some fresh passion fruit this summer.

I did think the Ceres guava and apricot juices were good. I’d like to try their pineapple.

I made one of these tonight and thought it was boring as hell (Ceres passion fruit juice, Maker’s Mark, Bols curacao, Appleton Extra, that damned Bacardi 151.) I ended up adding lime and pineapple and grapefruit and various other things to it to try to save it, and splitting it into two drinks. I won’t be making this one again.

The absolute key is to use Lemon Hart 151. Also, I think you’d fare better with something like Gosling’s for the dark Jamaican… the sweetness will cut through the passion fruit quite well. Let me know if you try it again with those adjustments; I’d be surprised if it didn’t make all the difference in the world.